Name This Piece! (part 001)

When I tell people I’m an urban planner turned jewelry designer, the top 2 questions are: “how did you decide to quit your day job?” and “where do you get your ideas?” Quitting my day job was no easy feat. But I took a leap of faith that it would work out, and well, so far I’m not eating 99ȼ ramen every night. I’ll share more on that story another day. As for my ideas, basically they tumble out of my brain at will, inspired by my surroundings, my doodles, and more. Not easy, but manageable.

The most surprising difficulty is describing things, and believe it or not, naming things. Naming a piece is hard! To be fair, sometimes it is easy, like with circus. Boom! It fits. But picture is: a great idea comes to me. I spend some time developing the concept and sometimes hours making and refining the piece, then figuring out the best way to replicate it. Once I’ve photographed it, priced it, and described it, I’m ready to post it, right? Wrong. I still have to think of a name. And, I have to tell you, there are many times when a name just won’t come to mind. I’ve even considered switching to numbers: earrings, part # 017. Or maybe just: untitled, #104?

This piece needs a name! Is it a cartouche? A totem? A funky envelope? You tell me…

Except that there’s so much in a name. A name evokes a feeling about a piece’s character, just as a person’s name does. Take it from an “Elizabeth” who goes by “Zabe” (look again; it’s the middle bit). Not that there’s anything wrong with “Beth” or “Liz”, but they are very different people.

Since I have trouble with naming, I’m asking you for help. Every month or so, I’ll post a photo of an item that hasn’t yet told me its name. And then it will be up to you to send in entries, through whatever interweb method you like. Tag me on Google+, or post it on my Facebook page, or tweet it to me, or (re)pin it on Pinterest, or just post a comment below. Or “like” someone else’s entry. A couple weeks later, I’ll pick a winner. If it’s your entry, you’ll get the item for free. Win-win, right? I certainly think so.

On the interwebs every Friday I highlight a featured item from my collection. This time it’s this wonderfully confounding necklace. I needed something to pair with my rectilinear earrings, and the design just came to me. Unfortunately it didn’t bring a name with it. So, what say you? What’s its name?

–zb

ps. Thanks in advance for any suggestions you come up with! It should go without saying, but I’ll ask that you please keep your suggestions PG.